If there was one instance in Sting’s career that pointed the way towards a post-Police future, it was his appearance at 1981 Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policemen’s Other Ball. Sting’s appearance at the charity event organized by members of sketch comedy troupe Monty Python was the musical highlight during which he performed acoustic versions of “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle.” Shorn of the reggae-punk sound with which they were originally recorded, the songs revealed an introspective, vulnerable musician whose jazz leanings would emerge in his subsequent solo career.
Those songs have been in Sting’s setlist for his current My Songs tour coming to Caesars Palace, where he returns after a triumphant debut Colosseum residency last fall. For his second extended engagement The Englishman in Las Vegas offers a career retrospective that begins with “Bottle” and concludes with the title song from his latest album The Bridge.
Photo by: Denise Truscello
That album is the latest example of Sting following his muse, inspiration that just happens to coincide with his musical taste. The first example was his 1985 debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Sting had recruited the cream of the crop of then-upcoming jazz musicians including saxophonist Branford Marsalis, drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Darryl Jones and keyboardist Kenny Kirkland. The recording just happened to drop when smooth jazz was burgeoning as a radio format and crossed over to become a rock and contemporary hits radio success.
Blue Turtles contained “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” an answer song to the Police’s biggest hit, “Every Breath You Take,” and a Sting setlist mainstay. One song that hasn’t been part of recent concert content but is most likely to be added is “Russians,” which has taken on new meaning since the invasion of Ukraine. Sting released a new version this year to benefit Help Ukraine Center, and stated in an Instagram post that, “I’ve only rarely sung this song in the many years since it was written because I never thought it would be relevant again. But, in the light of one man’s bloody and woefully misguided decision to invade a peaceful, unthreatening neighbor, the song is once again a plea for our common humanity.”
Sting has never been short on humanity, having supported a plethora of causes with his better half Trudie Styler. Ever the renaissance man, he played a supporting role in 2021 French film Kaamelott: The First Chapter. Now the focus is on playing live, and the quantity of Police hits played will satisfy any ’80s music aficionado, while the deep dive into solo material likely will include several songs with “Love” in the title, brand new tracks from The Bridge such as “Rushing Water” and deep cuts like “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying.”
At 70, Sting’s energy seems inhuman. With all the years of running and yoga he’s fashioned a physical self that could enable him to perform and record for years to come. Consider him an alien, a legal alien in Las Vegas creating a temporary Magic Stingdom in the Colosseum.
Caesars Palace, 8 p.m. June 8, 10-11, 15 & 17-18, starting at $59 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com
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